


The Page Chase

by Foxtrots



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-06
Updated: 2013-07-06
Packaged: 2017-12-17 22:26:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/872650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxtrots/pseuds/Foxtrots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A reading of Bilbo's book turns into an adventurous chase for an old hobbit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Page Chase

Bilbo didn't mean to take a nap. The intention was to simply sit out on the bench in front of Bag End with his beloved book. With a cramped hand from writing so much, he decided this would be the perfect day to read what he had written. So the old hobbit sat upon the bench in the garden of Bag End, overlooking the Shire and began to read, gathering back old memories. 

But at some point or another, the hobbit fell asleep. Head drooped, shoulders slouched, lips parted in a light sleep in the sunshine. Now that he was an elderly hobbit, Bilbo hardly had the energy he had when he was younger. No, even reading a book was tiresome. So asleep he remained as little hobbits played nearby, and little birds chirped from branches of trees. 

It would have been a beautiful sight to see: the lush gardens, butterflies and birds all over the place, but Bilbo was too busy sleeping to even notice. 

Of course, when a particularly brave bird perched on Bilbo's shoulder and chirped, that woke the hobbit. With a jolt, he sat up straight, scaring the bird away. At first Bilbo was disorientated from waking from his nap, but he soon remembered where he was and what he was doing. Bilbo took a moment to appreciate the Shire's beauty before going about his book again. When he glanced down, he found the brave bird sitting on the book, a page held firmly in its beak. 

“Hey!” Bilbo protested as the bird pulled on the page, trying to steal it for its own. “That's mine!” Bilbo tried to shoo the bird, but it was too intent on getting the page to be bothered. Soon, the page ripped from its bindings and the bird took off, page fluttering in its grasp. 

Bilbo set his book aside and chased after the bird, his old joints protesting with every stride. Before he had travelled far in the bird's pursuit, Bilbo was already tired and huffing and puffing. Still, he was determined to get back his rightful page. 

“Give it back!” Bilbo ordered as he chased the bird, arms flailing about as he tried to speed up his running. The bird at this point had decided the page wasn't worth all the trouble and released it, going to find someone else to make its nest with. 

Bilbo paused as he saw the page flutter in the breeze. It spun circles in the wind and fluttered here and there, but it refused to land. When a gust of wind picked up, the page was gone again and Bilbo was back to chasing. The poor hobbit was completely out of breath by now and the Baggins part of him told him to just give up. Of course that was when the Tookish part woke up and told him to run faster to get his rightful page. 

Finally, the page landed on top of a hill. Using all of his effort, Bilbo scaled the hill, clutching his chest as he ran. Oh, he was far too old for such adventures now. Bilbo's run had turned into a walk as he reached the top of the hill, glad to see his page hadn't fluttered away again. 

“Oh, thank you,” Bilbo huffed when he realised someone was standing on the page to keep it still. Bilbo finally took back his rightful page. Crumpled and dirtied, Bilbo held it securely in his hand, sure to not let go of it. 

Bilbo was about to thank the page's captor again, but his voice became caught in his throat. In front of him was a dwarf. A strange sight to see in the Shire, of course. 

Although it was very rude, Bilbo stared at the dwarf. With brown hair with strands of grey, a long moustache and a very old hat, Bilbo had no doubt who the stranger was in front of him. Immediately, he let go of his page, letting it flutter away in the wind as he wrapped his arms around his old friend.

**Author's Note:**

> I was given a prompt on tumblr: A nap in the sunshine with birds singing and butterflies all over the place and I made this.


End file.
